Athabasca Pass National Historic Site

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Athabasca Pass National Historic Site

Establishing transportation corridors to the Pacific Coast was vital to the fur trade. Guided through the Athabasca Pass by Thomas the Iroquois, David Thompson was instrumental in surveying many routes through the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The first northerly route through Howse Pass was quickly blocked by the Pikani Tribe in 1810 forcing Thompson to trek through a more challenging route through Athabasca Pass near Jasper, Alberta. It was used for nearly half a century as part of the main fur trade routes from Canada to the coast.